Push pull exerciser with spring resistance

ABSTRACT

An excercise device comprising a hollow cylinder having a heavy coil spring loosely positioned therein. A rod passes through the center of the spring to the bottom of the cylinder. A cross bar is mounted on the bottom of the rod and engages the bottom end of the spring. A hollow rod is telescopically slidable at the upper end of the rod. A cross bar is mounted at the bottom end of the hollow rod and engages the top end of the spring. Above the hollow rod, the rod is provided with a vertical slot. A transverse handle is provided with a pin extending through the slot to permit vertical sliding movement of the handle along the rod. On downward movement, the handle engages the top of the hollow rod and pushes the rod and its cross bar down against the top of the spring. This movement can continue until the handle reaches the bottom of the slot. On upward movement of the handle, it engages the upper end of the slot and pulls the rod upwardly so that its cross bar is pulled against the bottom end of the spring. Both ends of the cylinder are closed to limit the movement of the spring. Now, when the bottom of the cylinder is pivotally mounted on a floor or base, movement of the handle up and down provides an excellent exercise for the arms, shoulders and back. To heighten the effect, a small platform may be mounted on springs in front of the device. The person stands on the platform and operates the cylinder to provide the body with a sway effect. The platform and cylinder can be mounted on a short board for easier handling and storage.

,lohnson States atent [191 PUSH PULL EXERCISER WITH SPRING RESISTANCE [76] Inventor: James E. Johnson, 917 Major Potter Rd., East Greenwich, R].

[22] Filed: Nov. 15, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 306,537

[52] US. Cl 272/83 R [51] Int. Cl A63b 21/04 [58] Field of Search 272/67, 79 R, 82, 272/83 R, 57 R, 79 C; 267/171, 176

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,359,802 12/1967 Sollenberger.... 272/79 C 163,801 5/1875 Knight 272/83 R 92,793 7/1869 Butler 272/83 R 3,587,319 6/1971 Andrews 272/79 C FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 308,472 2/1969 Sweden 272/83 R Primary Examiner--Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-J. Taylor Attorney-Max Schwartz [57] ABSTRACT An excercise device comprising a hollow cylinder having a heavy coil spring loosely positioned therein. A

rod passes through the center of the spring to the bottom of the cylinder. A cross bar is mounted on the bottom of the rod and engages the bottom end of the spring. A hollow rod is telescopically slidable at the upper end of the rod. A cross bar is mounted at the bottom end of the hollow rod and engages the top end of the spring. Above the hollow rod, the rod is provided with a vertical slot. A transverse handle is provided with a pin extending through the slot to permit vertical sliding movement of the handle along the rod. On downward movement, the handle engages the top of the hollow rod and pushes the rod and its cross bar down against the top of the spring. This movement can continue until the handle reaches the bottom of the slot. On upward movement of the handle, it engages the upper end of the slot and pulls the rod upwardly so that its cross bar is pulled against the bottom end of the spring. Both ends of the cylinder are closed to limit the movement of the spring.

Now, when the bottom of the cylinder is pivotally mounted on a floor or base, movement of the handle up and down provides an excellent exercise for the arms, shoulders and back. To heighten the effect, a small platform may be mounted on springs in front of the device. The person stands on the platform and operates the cylinder to provide the body with a sway effect. The platform and cylinder can'be mounted on a short board for easier handling and storage.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 81974 FIG.

FIGS

PUSH PULL EXERCISER WITH SPRING RESISTANCE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Laborers, farmers and clam diggers all develop the upper part of the body through the exercise associated with their work. The clam digger, wielding a bull rake, develops his arms, back, shoulders and chest. A person wishing to exercise the same parts of the body must resort to exercise machines. Most exercise machines are complex, costly and usually made for commercial places such as health spas. The present invention is designed to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive apparatus for exercising the arms, back, shoulders and chest. The device is simple enough to be readily set up and stored in the home.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus is preferably mounted on a board. At one end, a small platform is mounted on springs to provide a rocking action when a person is positioned on it. At the other end, a pivot member is mounted to which the bottom end of a hollow cylinder is pivotally attached. A coil spring is positioned in the cylinder. A main rod passes through the cylinder and spring and is provided with a cross bar which engages the bottom of the spring. A hollow rod is slidably mounted on the main rod and is provided with a cross bar at its bottom end which engages the top of the spring. The main rod is provided with a vertical slot adjacent its upper end and a handle is vertically slidably mounted in the slot. On downeard movement, the handle pushes the hollow rod and its cross bar against the top of the spring. On upward movement the handle engages the top of the slot and pulls the main rod and its cross bar against the bottom of the spring. Thus the up and down pull and push provides the exercise against the tension of the single coil spring.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus embodying my present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the cylinder showing the exercising movement in one direction;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the movement in the opposite direction;

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 on FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a section of the platform; and

FIG. 6 is a section showing the handle mounting.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring more in detail to the drawings, the apparatus is preferably mounted on a board 10 which permits easy storage and placement on any floor for exercising. The board 10 may also be made collapsible or telescopic for shortening and storage in a closet. Mounted adjacent one end of the board 10 is a pivot base 1 I having spaced ears 12 with aligned pivot openings 13.

[now provide an elongated hollow cylinder 14 of a light strong material such as aluminum. The cylinder 14 is provided with a top cover 15 and a bottom cover 16. A heavy coil spring 17 is loosely mounted in the cylinder 14. A pair of spaced rods 18 are mounted on the inner face of the cover 15 and extend in spaced relation through the spring 17 to the bottom cover 16. The rods 18 pass through openings in the cover 16 and are locked in place by bolts 19. This locks the top and bottom covers to the cylinder 14 and encloses the spring 17 in the cylinder. However, it should be noted that the covers 15 and 16 are only locked in place after the completion of the assembly as herein described.

A bar 20 is fixed to the bottom of the cover 16 and extends to the pivot base 11 between the ears 12. A pivot pin extends through the openings 13 and through an opening in the lower end of the bar 20 to pivotally lock the cylinder 14 to the base 11 and board 10.

A rod 21 extends through an opening in the center of the top cover 15, along the axis of the spring 17 to a point just beyond the bottom end of the spring 17. A cross bar 22 is mounted on the bottom end of the rod 21 to extend across the inner diameter of the cylinder. It should be noted that the spaced rods 18 extend through suitable openings in the cross bar 22 so that the cross bar 22 can slide along the rods 18. The bar 22 engages the bottom end of the coil spring 17 and can only be pulled upwardly by the rod 21 against the resilient action of the spring 17.

a hollow rod 23 is slidably mounted adjacent the upper end of the rod 21. The lower end of the hollow rod 23 extends through the central opening in the cover 15 to a cross bar 24 similar to the cross bar 22 at the bottom. The cross bar 24 also has openings through which the rods 18 extend. The cross bar 24 engages the upper end of the spring 17 when the hollow rod 23 is pushed downwardly.

The rod 21 is provided with a vertical slot 25 extending down on the rod 21 below the upper edge of the hollow rod 23. A with handle 26 is slidable mounted on the rod 21 with a lock pin 27 extending through the slot 25. With this arrangement, vertical movement of the handle 26 is limited by the length of the slot 25. When the handle 26 is pulled upwardly, its pin 27 slides to the upper end of the slot 25. Further upward movement of the handle will cause it to pull the rod 21 upwardly. The cross bar 22 at the bottom end of the rod 21 will slide upwardly along the rods 18 against the action of the spring 17. When the handle 26 is pushed downwardly, it engages the top edge of the hollow rod 23 and pushes it down so that its cross bar 24 slides down along the rods 18 against the top of the spring 17. This movement is limited by the length of the slot 25 in which the handle slides.

Thus, by standing on the board 10, a person can grasp the handle 26 and exercise his body by alternately pulling and pushing the handle against the action of the spring 17. However, to ensure proper posture and enhance the exercising motion, I provide a platform shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. The board 10 may be widened to accommodate the platform. A rectangular platform 28 is mounted on a coil spring 29 positioned beneath the center of the platform 28. This should resiliently bear most of the weight of the person exercising. A plurality of springs 30 are positioned at an outward angle, one at each corner of the platform 28. These springs also help to bear the weight and serve as resilient buffers. against lateral swaying movement.

The best exercising position is when the person is standing erect, perhaps even more erect than the dotted figure in FIG. 1. To allow this posture, the extended portions of the rods 21 and 23 should be long enough to extend upwardly for this purpose. Also, when pushing downwardly in the position shown in FIG. 2, the upper end of the rod 21 is exposed. To cover the rod,

an auxiliary hollow rod may be mounted over the exposed end to abut the hollow rod 23. The handle can operate through a slot in the auxiliary rod.

It should be noted that a clam digger, operating from a boat, applies his working pressure on a bull rake from a yielding platform. Similarly, the platform 28 provides the same effect. Thus, in a small space, a person can effectively exercise his entire body without movement other than the push and pull motion of the handle. Exercise is provided from the neck down to the toes with this simple device.

The apparatus is comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and assemble. It is readily stored in a small home closet space. Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. An exercise apparatus comprising a hollow cylinder, means for pivotally mounting the bottom end of said cylinder at floor level, a spring in said cylinder, a manually operable means adapted to be pulled upwardly, said means engaging the bottom end of said spring to compress said spring upwardly, and manually operable means associated with said first means adapted to be pushed downwardly, said second means engaging the top of said spring to compress said spring downwardly.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein a horizontal base board is provided adjacent one end with a pivot member, said cylinder bottom end being pivotally attached to said pivot member.

3. An apparatus as in claim 2, wherein a platform is mounted on said base board adjacent the other end of said board, the person exercising standing on said platform.

4. An apparatus as in claim 3, wherein said platform is resiliently mounted on a plurality of springs between said platform and said board.

5. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said means comprises a rod extending axially through said cylinder, a cross bar at the bottom end of said rod engaging the bottom end of said spring when said rod is pulled upwardly, said rod having a slot adjacent its upper end. and a handle slidably mounted on said rod and having a lock pin extending through said slot.

6. An apparatus as in claim 5, wherein said second means comprises a hollow rod slidable at the upper portion of said axial rod and extending into the upper end of said cylinder, and a cross bar on the bottom of said hollow rod engaging the top of said spring, said handle engaging the top of said hollow rod when said handle is pushed downwardly.

7. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein a cover is mounted at each end of said cylinder, and a pair of spaced parallel rods extend from one cover to the other to lock said covers to said cylinder.

8. An apparatus as in claim 4, wherein a cover is mounted at each end of said cylinder, and a pair of spaced parallel rods extend from one cover to the other to lock said covers to said cylinder.

9. An apparatus as in claim 6, wherein a cover is mounted at each end of said cylinder, and a pair of spaced parallel rods extend from one cover to the other to lock said covers to said cylinder.

10. An apparatus as in claim 9, wherein a horizontal base board is provided adjacent one end with a pivot member, said cylinder bottom end being pivotally attached to said pivot member. 

1. An exercise apparatus comprising a hollow cylinder, means for pivotally mounting the bottom end of said cylinder at floor level, a spring in said cylinder, a manually operable means adapted to be pulled upwardly, said means engaging the bottom end of said spring to compress said spring upwardly, and manually operable means associated with said first means adapted to be pushed downwardly, said second means engaging the top of said spring to compress said spring downwardly.
 2. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein a horizontal base board is provided adjacent one end with a pivot member, said cylinder bottom end being pivotally attached to said pivot member.
 3. An apparatus as in claim 2, wherein a platform is mounted on said base board adjacent the other end of said board, the person exercising standing on said platform.
 4. An apparatus as in claim 3, wherein said platform is resiliently mounted on a plurality of springs between said platform and said board.
 5. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said means comprises a rod extending axially through said cylinder, a cross bar at the bottom end of said rod engaging the bottom end of said spring when said rod is pulled upwardly, said rod having a slot adjacent its upper end, and a handle slidably mounted on said rod and having a lock pin extending through said slot.
 6. An apparatus as in claim 5, wherein said second means comprises a hollow rod slidable at the upper portion of said axial rod and extending into the upper end of said cylinder, and a cross bar on the bottom of said hollow rod engaging the top of said spring, said handle engaging the top of said hollow rod when said handle is pushed downwardly.
 7. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein a cover is mounted at each end of said cylinder, and a pair of spaced parallel rods extend from one cover to the other to lock said covers to said cylinder.
 8. An apparatus as in claim 4, wherein a cover is mounted at each end of said cylinder, and a pair of spaced parallel rods extend from one cover to the other to lock said covers to said cylinder.
 9. An apparatus as in claim 6, wherein a cover is mounted at each end of said cylinder, and a pair of spaced parallel rods extend from one cover to the other to lock said covers to said cylinder.
 10. An apparatus as in claim 9, wherein a horizontal base board is provided adjacent one end with a pivot member, said cylinder bottom end being pivotally attached to said pivot member. 